The Destiny of The Beoulves
by cynicalchild
Summary: A tale of a Summoner and the tragedies that befall on Gallione. (Spoilers Ahead) Yes I know the Chapters are short but the story is good so bear with me here. R+R Please!
1. A Chemist

The Destiny of the Beoulves  
By Beoulve16  
Based on the game Final Fantasy Tactics.  
Note! I do not own Final Fantasy Tactics or anything related to it except Mueller, Alen, Ariel, Fink, Boyle etc. The rest are Square's.  
  
Chapter One- A chemist  
  
My name is Mueller. Now I'm just a lowly chemist in Igros castle. As a chemist, I'm trained in throwing different curative items, although I'm bad at it. But I once ended a battle in an accidental toss of a revival item to a skeleton, literally slaying him and thus ending the battle. But after battle, the knight I was trying to revive came around after battle, by an experienced priest. At the castle I ran into him and he had the look of executing me as a heretic, but instead of doing that he congratulated me on winning the battle.  
  
I had managed to master the chemist class by a width of a chocobo feather. There were many dangers to being a chemist than a squire, which was my other choice as a job. A squire leads to warrior classes while a chemist leads to magic. Magic. That was my sole purpose of being a chemist. I wanted to have the finesse of the mind, rather than of physical force. When I mastered the throwing of all types of items at different ranges I graduated to magic. My graduation day was glorious. I was so proud of myself that I did various odd jobs to get gil for my graduation party. On my graduation day I was asked to decide which magician class to promote to. My choices were a priest or wizard. Priests were just like chemists with curative spells and wizards were like knights with attack spells. I saw chart of the outcomes of either class and I decided in an instant. A wizard is what I will be. I just saw one of the outcomes of a wizard and decided. The outcome was a summoner. I had always wanted to become one, because the hero of the Lion War, Ramza Beoulve always had a loyal summoner with him. I have read about him as a summoner and the stories were remarkable, he stood up against the fiercest opponents to protect his leader. I just looked up at the committee and just said "Wizard." "You got it Mueller! Here are your robes and rod." the man said as he handed me them. I took them with joy and felt proud...  



	2. The Raging Battlefield

Around me, I heard the rages and cries of people and war around me. "Mueller! Throw me a X-potion over here!" a fellow knight yelled to me. "But sire, we're fresh out!" I complained. "Then throw me a bloody Hi-potion then!" the knight cursed. "My, my, what a dirty mouth for a Holy Knight!" was the response that fell out of my mouth," Eureka! I got the blasted potion! Here, Sir Grensal! Catch!" I yelled as I threw the potion right...into his face. "Uh oh..." I said as I started praying, "Oh St. Ajora if you get my arse off this rock I will build a city in your honor..." was the start of the prayer. "Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lightning Stab!" was a yell that drowned out the prayer and knocked me out.... 


	3. The Disgrace

"Uuuugggggghhhhhh... Could somebody say 'temperamental'?" I asked as I groggily woke up. "Oh! You already woke up Mueller?" a priest nearby me asked. "Yeah, Ariel. What's going on now?" I asked the priest whom I recognized quickly. "They are court-martialing Sir Grensal for treason under attacking an ally deliberately." she said in a singing tone, her voice easily melted my heart, as I hope to marry her someday. "So, how bad was the attack on me?" I asked due to there were no marks upon me at all, thanks to quick treatment from priests. "Let's see... Umm... There were a few scars, your thigh was burning and your head was severely damaged. Your injuries were so heavy, that we had to cast a few Cure4 and Raise spells. I was worried for you." she told me. I whistled, "Ouch". Good thing I was already unconscious the moment I got hit." "I know, talk about sadistic torture if you weren't. Come on, I'm supposed to take you to the trial." Ariel told me. "All right, let's go!" I said.  
  
"Sir Alen Luc Grensal, do you admit that you attempted to kill wizard Mueller Shulen?" the judge asked in a cold voice. "Yes sire." Sir Grensal answered. "May I ask why?" the judge, Sir Victor Teo Arthur asked. "I was confused by an enemy oracle." the knight lied. "LIAR!" I screamed. "Wizard Shulen, would you care to share us the details of that battle that occurred on the date of July 12 of this year?" the judge asked as he locked his eyes onto mine. "Yes sir." I said as I began.  
  
"We were on the Fovoham Plains fighting some Monks and Bull Demons when Sir Grensal was injured. He then ordered me to throw him a potion, which I did, but accidentally threw it into his face. I assure you Sir Arthur, this was pure accidental. After which, Sir Grensal, fueled by rage, not confused at all, which even if he was, in that state you could not use skills like that, preformed the Lightning Stab skill on me, knocking me out." I finished as I gave my testimony.  
  
"Sir Alen Luc Grensal, you are no longer a Holy Knight of Igros castle and to be rid of all items showing the Holy Knight status and hereby banned from the kingdom of Igros. If you appear here again, the penalty will be death by the Lightning Stab technique for which you know so well." the judge said clearly over the chortles of the court as he said the last part. "The ceremony of the abolishment of Alen Luc Grensal's rank will be held on a later notice. Good night everyone." the judge coldly said. Ariel and me just stood there, staring at each other, stunned.  



	4. A Disgrace Is Put To Exile

The ceremony was preformed at dusk. The entire court gathered in the hall of Igros castle. Alen stood next to the entire corps of holy knights. "Alen Luc Grensal, the disgrace, please come to the throne." King Delita commanded. Alen came up to the seat and kneeled down, holding his Rune Blade. "Knight Grensal, hold up your blade." Delita commanded. But alas! He hesitated! "Alen Luc Grensal! You knave! Hold up your sword!" King Delita roared, pointing his Save the Queen Blade at him. Full of hate, Alen held up the blade. Delita raised his blade up, and as he brought it down he chanted, "Demolish weapons with fury! Hellcry Punch!" as he finished, a fire appeared on Alen's Rune Blade and it exploded into his face. Alen was thrown back with blood all over his forehead. Delita brought up his sword again, "Curses from all directions! Blastar Punch!" and bolts of energy came from every direction and the Kaiser Helm Grensal was wearing exploded into shrapnel. Alen grimaced and kneeled still. "Armor won't help the heart stay sharp! Shellbust Stab!" and the Maximillian armor exploded! "Disaster cries out to smash all... Icewolf Bite!" and the Genji armlet burst into flying shards of iron.  
  
King Delita looked venomously down at Grensal's limp body as he tossed him a Phoenix Down. Grensal's weak body awakened by the revival item. Without no weapons or armor, Grensal looked frightened. "Squire Grensal," Delita started, "You are hereby no longer a Holy Knight of Igros castle and banished from the land of Gallione. Now go! A chocobo is outside waiting for you!" and with that, Grensal spat at Delita's face. The court was amazed. Delita laughed," Don't worry men, let the knave go. I'd do the same thing also" and the court calmed down. "Ah yes, I forgot one more matter. Fink! Summon Master Bahamuht." Delita ordered and the court gasped. Bahamuht was the lord of the Dragons and was rarely seen, because not many had the strength to call him. "Scorch with dragon flame! Bahamuht!" Master Summoner Fink chanted. The lord of all beasts and Dragons appeared in front of Delita saying," What dost thou require of thee?" "Remember this knave? Well, he is no longer a Holy Knight, so your mark of courage must be removed Lord Bahamuht." Delita explained. "As you wish King of Gallione. Show the mark knave!" King Bahamuht ordered. Grensal bared his chest to reveal constantly bleeding scar. We were all shocked, that mark was a symbol of a Holy Knight's strength of body and soul. We could see Alen's impure body being weakened by the scar. Bahamuht's mouth glowed with Dragon fire and the jet went to the scar. Suddenly the scar sealed up until it no more like a scratch. "I presume my purpose is served here. Farewell good king of Gallione." Bahamuht said as he vanished to the plane of the summoned beasts. Now the attention was turned to Alen's weak body. "Still here fool? The chocobo is still outside for you. Now go!" Delita yelled. We were all shocked. Delita dismissed the court and me and Ariel walked off to the magician's dormitories. We were both stunned by that ceremony.   



	5. Alen

Months had past since the demotion of Alen Luc Grensal, now a new force claiming to be the heirs of the Death Corps, the rebels seeking equality among people in the past. King Delita, not one to risk anything, sent a group to check it out. Ariel was part of the group. I was left out of the group due to lesser experience than the others.   
  
Months later....  
  
Ariel burst through the castle gates in a rush. I jumped back in surprise, wearing the new Time Mage robes, which I recently achieved. "Ariel! Slow down! Don't make me cast slow on you!" I warned, heart beating in joy. Oh, how I missed her so! I was secretly saving up for a robe for her. "Where is King Delita?" Ariel rapidly asked. "Hold on Ariel. Where are the others?" I asked. "Outside the castle, holding off the New Death Corps! Now bring me to Delita!" she yelled. "Yes Ariel." I dutifully lead her to the king.  
  
"King Delita!" Ariel yelled, unbalancing the King and his leading commanders. "Priest Ariel! Back already? You better have a good reason to interrupt this meeting!" he roared. We were both in fear of the King's rare but fierce rage. Then he burst out laughing," Don't worry Ariel, we were just having conversation. Go on, talk" "Thank you sire." she said, giggling, King Delita's pranks were preformed often in the castle, "Fink and Boyle are outside the castle fighting the New Death Corps!" Delita and his generals (Holy Swordsmen) were shocked. "Do you know who is leading this band?" he asked. "Alen." Ariel bluntly said the name, like a curse.  



	6. The Blaze Of Fire

"Attack with the master of the commandments! Zodiac!" Fink yelled and a flash of light went by and 5 soldiers fell. The corps halted for a bit due to fear of Master Fink. The powerful summon drained a lot of Fink's magical energy. This distraction gave Boyle time to aim his Yochi bow at the enemy Priest. The arrow flew straight and it was lodged into the magician's eye. This tactic stopped the troop from being able to cast a spell. The Priest soon fell from heavy damage to the head. Me, Ariel, Delita and his Holy Swordsmen marched forward.  
  
"Mueller! Watch your flank!" Delita yelled as he chanted, "Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lightning Stab!" and an enemy Knight trying to get me from my rear were burnt to a crisp. "Thanks Sire." I said and to return the favor I said, "Layer upon layer, make your mark now! Haste!" and Delita's speed rapidly multiplied. "Thanks." Delita said. "Sire, where are the others?" I asked. "They marched off to the front lines to take out the leader." Delita told me. "Thank you Sire." I said as I ran towards the front lines. Encountering a Monk along the way. I knocked him out by bashing him on the head with my staff. I also saw Delita's generals attacking hordes of knights with sword spells.  
  
The front lines were fierce with magic and bloodstains. "Mueller! Over here and duck down!" Boyle yelled as he fired an arrow right into the forehead of a Squire. "Thanks a lot!" I yelled with the blood from the Squire spurting all over my robes. "That's fixable but your head isn't!" Boyle yelled and cursed as he fired another arrow into a Knight, crippling him. "Where's Ariel?" I asked, clubbing another Monk in the process. "She's up further front, supporting Fink. Go up there and may Bahamuht smile upon you!" he yelled as he was suddenly surrounded. So he put away his bow and yanked out a Katana and started running around, fighting, dodging and kicking everyone with the command of a Samurai.  
  
I found the pair, cornered by enemy troops before Fink yelled, "Attack with the master of the commandments! Zodiac!" and they all vanished with the flash of light. Fink was incredibly drained after that summon so Ariel told him to go back to the castle. So Fink ran past me to Igros, considerably drained of magical energy. I ran to Ariel and then the smoked cleared. There was only one person standing. It was Alen. Clad in the armor of the Dark Knight.  



	7. The Harsh Cold of Ice

"You traitor!" Ariel screamed, "Bright light, shine down on bloody impurity! Holy!" and balls of bright light surrounded Alen and exploded, engulfing him with white fire. "Ha, ha, ha, nice try holy dog!" Alen cackled, barely phased by the spell, "Aurora, exhale bloody air! Dark Holy!" and dark balls of unholy energy smothered us and the screams of the damned penetrated our souls and minds. We flew into the air, stunned and horribly injured. Then, I heard a chant flowing into my ears, "Mighty breeze, heal from the sky! Cure 4!" and our wounds sealed up and our minds purified of the screams but Ariel's mind was weakened from the spell. "Foolish mages, see if you can recover from this!" the blight of Gallione challenged, "Master of all swords, cut energy! Night sword!" a thin line of bloody light appeared above my forehead and started to drain me of my spirit to seal this evil's wounds until a body covered by white robes blocked the path. "Ariel! No!!!!!" I screamed, but it was too late. As the limp body fell to the ground, Alen cackled with pure delight, "Awww, does the weak mage feel empty without the Priest protecting him? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaahahaha!" 


	8. Rage of Lightning Unleashed

"You bastard!" I screamed as Ariel's Limp body fell into my arms. "Mueller avenge me, I must leave now, goodbye!" Ariel said as her body vanished and a crystal appeared in her place. Tears of love, hurt and anger streamed down my robes, the anger rising to tremendous amounts. I had grabbed my staff and it transformed into the hilt and blade of Excalibur, the sword of rightful justice. "How could this be? No magician is fit for a sword! This is impossible!" Alen screamed in panic. I was just as amazed as he was but the sword felt firm and natural to my touch. So I yelled, "Why are you scared Alen? You have ended and tortured many lives with a blade, yet as your own fate with one bears down upon you, you cower back in fear! Now die from your own given fate bastard!" "You are as absurd as the priest I just killed! No bastard mage shall defeat me in combat! En garde!" Alen reprised.  
  
So our blades had clashed and again. Our blood had spilled between our eyes and every pore, the salty taste of it filling our minds. Then my spilled blood had touched my sword and something happened. A blue body had suddenly appeared out of the sword. Both of us stepped back in fear of a Ghoul that had inhabited the blade. Instead it was a ghost resembling Balbanes Beoulve. "Mueller, my son! How good to see you! You may not remember me but you are my son of illegitimate birth yet you are as noble as all of my other children. You must find your brother Ramza and restore the order of the land. I shall send help along the way. Goodbye son." The specter exclaimed. "You a Beoulve? How could that be possible! I must be going mad!" Alen had howled in confusion. I myself was lost in the news, me of noble descent; yes I already was a noble but of a lower class.  
  
Then suddenly new words had come to my mind and had forced me to utter them, "Brush off vanity and show reality! Ultima!" The words had sprung out of nowhere in the depths of my head but a pillar of green light had appeared in front of me and directed towards Alen. "This cannot be! This spell is of demon origin! No way a human could learn it! This is impossible!" Alen panicked. "Well, how could Master Fink have learned Zodiac?" I asked as the beam pushed through Alen's chest and ended his life.  



	9. Recovery and Discovery

The journey to Igros castle was difficult without any mobile support like chocobos and I damned every minute I had available to think of the recent events playing in my head. I was still shocked over the fact that I was a descendent of one of the most honored and disgraced names known to Ivalice, the Beoulves. Even more, was the fact that my half-brother Ramza was still alive. Not long ago, he was lost and written off dead by the Galbados church and forgotten to most commoners.  
  
I had appeared at the front castle gates with a squad of Samurai guards at the door, cursing, spouting and babbling questions. Then I fainted, causing a commotion throughout the ranks of the soldiers. "Mueller Shulen! You've come back!" were the last words I heard before I succumbed to the darkness.  
  
I awoke to the relaxing melody of birds singing and banter around at the lower parts of the castle. I saw the silhouette of a man standing near the window of my room. It was King Delita. "Sire!" I yelled in complete surprise as I knelt down. "Dispense with the formalities Mage Mueller. I have come to talk to you about the recent events played out." the king sharply imposed. So I told him what he asked for.  
  
The ruler of thousands was shocked beyond his years, even injured I could feel and see his face blanch and loose all color. Not much was known about what went on between King Delita and Ramza Beoulve during the years of the Lion War. "Brother..." was the only thing the king could say.  
  
"Brother? Are you another half-brother of mine that I should know about?" I asked with great gravity while being shocked about my own rude manners.  
  
That comment had seemed to snap Delita out of his reverie, "Yes, but not in the sense you are thinking Mueller. Balbanes was my adoptive father near the end of the 50 years war. My parents were commoners, treated like dirt and tossed aside. Then when my parents died of plague near the end of the war, Balbanes adopted me and my sister Teta into his family. But still I was shunned for my common blood. The church hid most of my past so I could be proclaimed a 'honorable' king. But I know that I have betrayed my family, both noble and commoner." He was in tears as he explained his life to me.  
  
"You see, I betrayed Ramza by using him as a pawn to end the war. I used my wife; Queen Olevia to grab power and I even killed her myself. Though the church reports say a 'ninja' killed her, I stabbed her with the knife that she had turned on me. You see brother," using the title for the first time, "after that happened, I started to wonder what did Ramza get in the end of this. Did he still live, hating me? Or trying to find me to forgive me?" "Why would he want to forgive you after all that you put him through? Shouldn't he hate you?" I asked, filled with even more confusion. He sighed, "If only such a thing was true, then I would have been dead for many years and more. I've been with him at many battles where he had a great opportunity to slay me and be rid of my foul presence. We were together at the Zirke Falls to save the then Princess Oliveia and a Zeltennia Castle to kill the Hershey inspector Zalmo."  
  
"But there is one thing about our brother that you should know about." he began, "He's basically incapable of hating anyone, evil incarnate or not even Lucavi. He has too much of Balbanes in him. If he really did hate anyone, then the whole of Ivalice would be in devastation. Another thing the church conveniently left out was the fact that he was in the company of almost all of the zodiac stones. Only his pure heart kept him from unleashing the evil in the stones and destroying our land. So try hard to find him so we can reward him for doing what I didn't do. Tomorrow, you shall become what is worthy of your bravery and talent, Brother Summoner." His sudden promotion didn't hit me till long after he left the room. He not only proclaimed me Summoner, but also called me his brother, which was equally wonderful. So I set off to get some sleep from the big day at hand.  



	10. The Big Day

Unfortunately, that big day started with a large, flat object landing on my head. "What in Lich's name?" was the first of many curses that flowed out of my mouth before I opened my eyes. The attacker was in reality Ariel. "Just when you think you're sober, you get a hangover in the morning. I'm seeing a person that has been dead for days! I should go and kill myself before I start even more hallucinations! Swirling Bolts…" I started to rant before Ariel opened her mouth.  
  
"No need to join me there Mueller, I can assure you, you wouldn't want to do that. The wait list up there is quite long, I only had to wait a day because of your father." She started to say. "Why did my father send you here?" I inquired, wondering what the hell he was cooking up. "Well, I wanted to see you and your father told me to go after you while you find your brother. Also you should be getting ready for your big promotion today! It's not everyday that someone becomes a Summoner!" She proclaimed with her great ambient energy. "Oh Ajora! I already forgot about that! I gotta get dressed! Get out!" I yelled in the quick rush that surrounded me with both embarrassment and anxiety. I had been so tired from thinking about the conversation between me and Delita last night that I only got an hour or two of sleep.  
  
A sharp, burning pain definitely woke me from my revile. "What in the name of all Gallione?!! Water! I need WATER!" I screamed as I ran left and right while the flames burned at my arse at the end of the magician's tunic. With those screams, the paranormal projection of Ariel walked through the door. "Ariel! I have a Phoenix Down in my sash you know!" I threatened her because everyone knew about the curative magics were reversed for the undead. "Alright, alright, no need to send me back there again. I just heard you dozing off again so I went to wake you up… Now go get dressed before I use something stronger! I do happen to know a few dragons around the castle!" she yelled as she disappeared again through the door. When she left I gave a sigh of relief and dressed in my paltry time mage garb.  
  
I walked out onto the castle terrace to be amazed by an enormous sight. Knights mounted on Red chocobos occupied the side barriers of the front walk of the castle grounds and Archers were placed on the castle roof to keep the swaying crowds back. Another thing that shocked me was the volume of people that appeared to see my promotion. I had either gained a reputation over these few days or the people had little to celebrate as a whole with increasing Death Corps attacks. Either way, the looks on their faces were those of joy and glee. I was directed to the central podium by a Royal guard of Holy Knights that teleported in formation at my sides. As I neared the podium, confetti barraged my clothes and an orchestra was playing a slow, tuned out march. (Author's note: this song is 'Commander in Training' for any of you who have the soundtrack for FFT and for the people that have played the game, it's that song that plays in the start of Ch. 1) After the long, loud walk to the stand, I kneeled down before my brother Delita and Master Fink.  
  
"Citizens of Gallione, welcome and thank you for appearing for this celebrated day." The greeting of the king elicited thousands of cheers and cries of 'Long live the king!' "For those of you who don't keep track of military events, you are here to witness to elevation of a rising hero." He proceeded onto explaining. "With the increasing assaults of the Reformed Death Corps, this nation is in dire need for hero's to step up to the task of defending the innocent. This Time Mage is no exception. He, with some of our greatest soldiers defended the castle from an assault from the vast task force from the Corps. Although we lost many worthy men and women of that day, Mueller here rose to the task and took initiative. With rage that would make Bahamuht tremble, he cut down the traitorous leader, former Holy Knight Alen Luc Grensal with this Holy Blade and a spell acquired from his bloodline." He spoke, raising the blade Excalibur above his head. This brought shock and amazement at the fact that a mage could muster the strength to wield a Knight's sword. "So today, we are here to witness the promotion of Time Mage Mueller Beoulve Shulen to the rank of Summoner." Yet again, the use of my father's family name shocked the crowd. With his speech over, he handed the ceremony of promotion to Master Fink.  
  
"Mueller, are you ready to face to hardships of a Summoner? To endure and rise to the heavens with power and honor? To be an example for rising mages and accept to your destiny? Are you ready to be worthy of your name, Mueller Beoulve Shulen?" The powerful Summoner beseeched of me. In awe of the events, I merely acknowledged with a nod. "Now for the moment of truth! Scorch with Dragon's flame! Bahamuht!" Fink uttered to familiar words to call upon the lord of beasts and men to the castle.  
  
The Dragon lord appeared from a rift in the sky and flew down to the ground next to Fink. With a few whispers to Fink, he began his part of the ceremony. "Mage Mueller Beoulve Shulen, that's quite a prestigious name from what I hear. I remember kindly the exploits of your Brother Ramza well, as with his aging friends and soldiers scattered across the castle grounds. Although it saddens me to see you only elevate to this one rank when you could go so much farther, I am happy to see you go at least to the high ranks of Summoners. Kneel down and lower you head!" He bellowed loud enough for people a mile away could hear. I did as he told as Dragonfire gathered at his mouth. The sweltering heat covered my entire body as sweat poured out of my every pore. He finally released the fire in a tumult of painless flames as my robes burned and turned to ashes while a new garb appeared. The fire went out and he spoke again.  
  
"Summoner Mueller Beoulve Shulen, rise to the task! You are now a Summoner! Learn from Master Fink well and bestow honor among your family line again! I expect to hear your voice call upon my strength from this world while I rest in the void one of these days! Farewell!" He spoke his part and flew back to the Void, awaiting another's call. I took the time to look at my new uniform. It was a black shirt woven from silk with Panther skinned pants. The robe was an emerald-green thing woven with Morbol hide. My gloves were sewn from the strongest Taimat skin. I adjusted my brown-horned Summoner's cap and looked to the crowd. They were cheering and waving in joy. I kneeled down toward the king once again.  
  
"Congratulations Brother." He whispered to me as he presented to me the Excalibur. As I touched the handle, I felt the holy essence and the acceleration of my heartbeat. I turned towards the crowd and raised Excalibur high above my head. The yellow blade reflected the sunlight and shined a brilliant array of colors. The crowd gave a last shout and proceeded to celebrate the event. Master Fink silently walked up to me and whispered, "Go to the inner throne room tonight after dinner. Congratulations Mueller." Then he walked out to his quarters.  



	11. A Child Amongst Men

  
  
Following Fink's orders, I traveled to the inner throne room. Wanting to try something new as well as impress whoever was there, I attempted to teleport. Although I have done it before, it was under very controlled circumstances in training but I haven't done it by myself yet. But I attempted anyway. I concentrated on a mental image of the throne room and me being there. A flash of blue light showed the success of my efforts and I found myself in the throne room. Except for one slight thing… I suddenly fell 5 feet downwards on the unsuspecting head of Master Boyle. The archer tumbled on the floor and landed in a painful heap, me on the other hand, landed flat on my face.  
  
"By Bahamuht's fangs! It's the Death Corps!" the master Monk Timothy yelled, stepping into a long-practiced fighting stance of the disciplined. "Calm yourself Timothy, it's only young Mueller. I don't think our old master would like to see his half-brother injured when he meets him." Master Fink clamed the fighter down. "Our old master? What kind of hallucinations are you speaking of? He's dead and long lost!" Timothy and Fink were speaking about a person that I had no clue about.  
  
"What he means Timothy is that Ramza Beoulve is still alive and breathing only Ajora knows where." The regal voice of Delita filled the narrow halls. Both the voice and what the voice said startled everyone in the hall except Delita, Fink and me. Then, after the shock subsided, typical human doubt filled the air with denial. "Calm down soldiers, CALM DOWN!" Delita screamed to subdue the screams. The voices stopped and everyone looked blankly at the three of us and awaited the voice of Delita. "Alright, now that everyone's settled down, we can get about to business. Yes, Lord Ramza Beoulve is still alive somewhere in Gallione; the only thing is that we don't know where he is. I called a meeting of the masters of warrior and mage classes in order to form a group to search for the missing hero and to figure out who will protect the people while I'm gone." This selection of words brought about a collection of cries to participate in our quest, causing Fink to call forth a bolt of lightning to stop the voices.  
  
"We shall do the selection in an organized matter, if you are not picked for the search group, don't worry because you will have equal glory in defending the land while we are gone." Fink stated to assure the crowd and then he met in a huddle with Delita and me. "Who should we bring along?" I asked to start it off. "We should bring Ramza's old officers since they are hardy soldiers and eager to meet their benevolent leader." Delita suggested. "So that's Master Monk Timothy, Master Archer Boyle, Master Ninja Hiroshi, Master Samurai Ieyasu and me." Fink pointed out, "Doesn't that leave the realm a little under defended?" he asked. "I'm assured that their students are perfectly capable of acting in place of them. The main worry is who should we leave to rule the realm in substitution." Delita assuaged the Summoner. "What about Master Dravon? He can keep the people at peace while we're gone." I said. I heard something muttered by Fink that suspiciously sounded like 'Yeah, by keeping them all go to sleep.' "Alright then, it's all settled." Delita said turning to the circle of men behind us.  
  
"Our decisions have been made, the men we have chosen have been kept from their rightful master for too long so it would be wrong to keep them from him for even longer. Boyle, Timothy, Hiroshi, Ieyasu and Fink shall be accompanying Mueller and me on our quest. Mediator Dravon will be taking my place while I'm away. To those remaining, try your hardest to defend the people, commoner or noble, it doesn't matter, keep no prejudice between the two, time is supposed to bring about improvement so don't fall back into the cycle of dissention as it was before. These are my orders, don't falter in your attempt to do your best. May Ajora and Bahamuht smile upon you." The king spoke warning and praising the soldiers as he spoke.  
  
The five selected could not keep the joy off their faces. Even Hiroshi could not keep the excitement off his battle worn face, despite his ninja training. Boyle made a portrait of Ramza as he last remembered him by shooting arrows in a wooden chair. The face in the portrait looked sorrowful and aged but amazingly filled with happiness. Probably after winning their final battle as he said his good-byes to his friends and fellow fighters. We all went to sleep before we began our travels across Ivalice to find and restore power to my long-lost half-brother.  



	12. An Ancient Partakes His Wisdom

Our misguided journey began at the slums of Dorter Trade City. When I was normally in the higher quality area of the city when I was here, the state of living and the manners of the citizens shocked me. Although they were very kind towards other people and us they had a habit of using many obscenities and lacked a multitude of formal habits. But I saw a kind heart in the people that were given a tarnished reputation by people from the Death Corps who wished for rebellion. The commoner stereotypes taught to me at the Igros Academy for nobles were abolished one by one as I saw the courage and perseverance of the people.  
  
According to the people formerly under Ramza's command, this was the place in which they said their good-byes to him and others. We asked some of the inhabitants about what happened to him after they all left. Only one of the people we asked knew about whom we were talking about. His name was Arthur McCloud. The man had an ancient face with twinkling eyes that were the only beacons that he was still living. "Ah, yes, I remember the lad quite well, you don't see such a face quite often in these impoverished streets. His hair was golden like Excalibur and his face was handsomely sculpted but his eyes had the most horrendous quality to them. They were haunted and deep, like he had seen to much evil in his young years and all the stress had accelerated his aging process. After his fellow soldiers said their good-byes, he and his beautiful sister left on their chocobos east, towards the direction of the Finath River. I wouldn't be surprised if you found him there. Well this doddering old fool shouldn't keep you off your task. Thank you for your company and if you meet the lad, tell him that Arthur McCloud of Dorter sends his goodwill." The man said as he fell back into sleep, holding the pains of age at bay. "You heard him brother, let us go." Delita suggested, leaving a bag filled with gil on the nightstand.  
  
"Well, Sire, where are we heading next?" Fink inquired Delita as we emerged from the dwelling. "To Finath, is there anything we should know about the River before we head there?" The sovereign replied. "Yes, the streams are deep and the forests are filled with those ever-damned red chocobos!" Boyle spoke out. "Well, what about those 'ever-damned Red Chocobos'? If I remember clearly, one of them saved your arse at the battle of Orbornne Monastery." Hiroshi said with a bemused smile on his face. "Alright, alright, they do have their good points but you kinda get sick of them when they break your limbs for the 5th time with those Choco Meteors." The Archer said in counter-argument. "With that settled, is there anything that we should know about this breed of Chocobo?" I asked, giving my first words in the conversation. "Yes, there are many things about them that are important Master Mueller, they walk in very deep waters with no impediment, can jump like Lancers, walk incredibly far distances with no trouble and pack a very strong punch with their beaks and their magic." Ieyasu explained to me, the first to call me 'master', no doubt because of my heredity. "But if they're tamed by mediators, those 'ever-damned Red Chocobos' make excellent mounts. We should try to 'Invite' some of them while we're there. Hiroshi here has the best experience with Mediator skills so he should be the one to do it." Timothy suggested. "Great idea, let us go!" Delita said in joy.  



End file.
